Kale Pasta

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: A super garlicky (read: super delicious) pasta with kale and beans. Yep, those were pretty much all of the ingredients in today's hearty, yummy main course. We also enjoyed a huge salad with green olives, grated carrots, garbanzo beans, avocado, tomato, cucumber, and a fantastic homemade salad dressing. Are those fresh strawberries you see on the side? Indeed they are.

The Goods: You might have noticed that our chef today isn't someone from our regular lineup. No, we didn't hire a new staffer, but we might if Chas keeps cooking up lunches like this one! He's a friend of Joseph's and has kindly agreed to cook for us while he's in town. To that we say, well, fine!

Mighty Miso

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A fantastic, simple meal of miso soup, wild rice from Village Harvest, and kale salad. With toasted nori, mushrooms, and scallions—along with a peppy kick of cayenne—this soup was a light, lovely treat that soothed the scratchy throats of some of our staffers. A huge kale salad with garbanzo beans and avocado with a simple side of wild rice finished off the meal.

The Goods: Though some of us are a little under the weather, we couldn't help but be excited by today's awesome meal. In related (aswesome) news, we have a little surprise for you. We couldn't be more thrilled to announce Savvy Abby, our newest blog! VN's Associate Editor and Web Editor Abby Young will bring you smart tips for vegan living on the cheap every Tuesday and Thursday.

Pasta e Fagioli

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A hearty, delicious, welcome-back-to-work meal. Lyndsay, it was unanimously decided, makes the best gluten-free pasta of anyone in the office—she always gets the texture just right. On top of her righteous rotini, we enjoyed a lovely tomato sauce (conveniently made by Organicville), to which Lyndsay added red bell pepper and white beans. OK, so maybe this is more pasta than fagioli, but nevertheless it was delectable. Lyndsay also busted out a lovely salad of mixed greens, kale, and avocado. Did we dress it with dressings that were also from Organicville? Indeed we did.

The Goods: Though the weekend here was gorgeous, today's skies were drippy and gray. The warm, satisfying meal Lyndsay made was the perfect antidote. It was great having a full office again, with the return of Joseph and Colleen from their Caribbean adventure on A Taste of Health. We wish they'd brought us some Caribbean sun, but their sunny dispositions will have to suffice this week.

Surf 'n' Soup

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Since we had some vegan seafood in the freezer from Sophie's Kitchen, Elizabeth made a cioppino-like tomato soup, though she actually served the pre-breaded meatless shrimp and calamari on the side. When you have the option to make tartar sauce, why would you ever chose not to?

The Goods: We dined al fresco again today, which was a lovely kickoff to what we hope will be a sunny weekend. We'll have our whole team back in the office on Monday, and we're excited about having the office back in full swing.

Vegan Quesadillas

The Chef: Abigail

The Menu: Some insanely delicious Mexican food. Really, look at how lovely that plate is! So, inside a few whole-wheat tortillas, Abigail melted Teese and Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burgers. She also whipped up some highly yummy Spanish rice, black and pinto beans with cashews, and a fresh avocado salsa with red bell pepper. This was a highly satisfying lunch, it's just only a shame that we had to ruin such a pretty presentation by eating it!

The Goods: What's the only way to follow up a meal as lovely as this? Why SF Vegan Drinks, of course! If you are in San Francisco and don't come by, we will definitely take it personally and cry into our $5 Peach Melba Martinis all night. (Yes, that's the drink special we'll be enjoying this fine evening.)

Spicy Peanut Veggies

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A fabulous mixture of potatoes, broccoli, carrots, black beans, and celery all blended together in Native Kjalii's Spicy Peanut Sauce. Yes, it's spicy and fantastic. We cooled our mouths with red quinoa, and Abby made a really yummy mustard vinaigrette for her salad of romaine, spinach, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and almonds.

The Goods: Is there anything better than a big plate of satisfying veggies? Why yes, it's a plate of satisfying veggies covered in two sensational sauces. Oh, and there's a little milestone that we're celebrating today; celebrations always make lunch more fun. What's the cause for applause, you ask? This entry right here marks Café VegNews' 600th post! Woo hoo! Here's to the next 600!

Better than Burgers

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: Delicious meatless burgers! Lyndsay toasted up bread slices, mixed up some patties with Harmony Valley Foods Vegetarian Hamburger Mix, mashed avocado, and served We Can't Say It's Cheese on top. These tasty burgers were just about as satisfying as can be, but Lyndsay didn't stop there. Oh no. A side serving of Amy's new vegan Rice Macaroni and Cheeze and a beautiful green salad made excellent sides.

The Goods: We are thoroughly enjoying the bright, warm sunshine we've been having this week. If we could dine al fresco every day, like we did today, we're pretty sure the world (at least the part that's in close proximity to our staffers) would be a better place.

Vegan Texas Potatoes

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A casserole full of potatoes and cheeses. Yes, Liz managed to blend two of our favorite foods together in this hearty lunch. Now, when we say "cheeses," what we mean is "more than one cheese." This dish boasted gooey goodness from both Teese and We Can't Say It's Cheese. Are both of those a good idea? Yes. Did we also need a salad to balance out the crazy richness of this dish? Yes. Liz came through with an avocado-studded, cherry-adorned, mixed-greens salad.

The Goods: We're a smaller staff this week as our publishers, Joseph and Colleen, are sailing around the Caribbean on A Taste of Health. Thankfully, we're stocked up on vegan cheeses, so we should be able to make it.

Presto Pasta

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A ready-made meal of pasta with an alfredo pesto sauce, courtesy of Newleaf. Colleen busted out a simple cucumber salad that perfectly complemented the hearty pesto, and we topped the whole plate with tons of Parma!, as per usual.

The Goods: It's stunningly gorgeous outside today, so you can be we dined al fresco. This is going to be a busy weekend, and we hope the beautiful weather keeps coming. The Genesis Awards are happening down in LA, where Elizabeth will be for the festivities. Then Joseph and Colleen have to get packed since they set sail on Sunday for a week-long cruise with A Taste of Health! Bon voyage, all! We'll be back on Monday, provided we can tear ourselves away from the beach.

Baked Tofu Rolls

The Chef: Abigail

The Menu: A dish that's quickly becoming Abigail's signature: delicious rolls. This time she wrapped baked tofu in a fantastic sesame-teriyaki sauce and rice rice paper. She also made a lovely salad with Swiss chard, artichoke hearts, lemon slices, avocado, and tomatoes.

The Goods: We dined al fresco today, which was an absolute joy. It was warm and sunny, which is just about our favorite way to eat. Oh, and maybe the food was really yummy too, which never hurts.

Irish Rice and Beans

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Ok, you caught us, these rice and beans are not technically Irish. But, since we were actually out of potatoes and whiskey, we thought they'd suffice. Elizabeth combined them in gallo pinto and served a salad of romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado, carrots, and cucumber alongside.

The Goods: Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Here's hoping that by this time of the day you're knee deep in your favorite green vegan beer. May the luck of the Irish carry you home tonight!

Barbecue and Biscuits

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: Surprise! There are biscuits! Abby's stand-by made yet another appearance, this time accompanied by barbecue-baked hot dogs and a hefty helping of home fries, which were slathered in a sweet and savory combo of sea salt, black pepper, rosemary, and maple syrup. For our daily greens, Abby whipped up a big salad with carrot, avocado, and a generous sprinkling of Kaia Foods Teriyaki Sprouted Sunflower Seeds.

The Goods: And we're back, everyone! After a whirlwind weekend at Expo West, the entire crew is back at the VNHQ and ready to work. Despite the hours and hours we spent eating the past few days—no, we're not exaggerating—this filling meal was welcomed at the lunch table. Want to know more about our Expo West adventures? Check out Joseph's LA recap on Press Pass, and read all about our Best of Show awards for the inside info on the latest, greatest veg products.

Expo West, Night One!

The Chef: The Veggie Grill

The Menu: Tons of goodies from The Veggie Grill! Hello, Chinese Chickin' Salad, you are delicious. We also enjoyed The V-Burger and Carne Asada. Um, those were quickly devoured. We would eat them again pretty much again right now given the chance. How could we follow up such a lovely meal? Why that would be with fantastic Babycakes NYC's cookie-frosting sandwiches. Jealous? Yeah, that's appropriate.

The Goods: Tonight marks our first in LA for Expo West 2010! It's pretty exciting to be here for the hugest trade show ever (not technically, but it certainly seems like it). We dined poolside at our hotel—which we'll be doing again tomorrow evening and Saturday—hence the less-than-stellar photo, but trust us, we enjoyed the meal just as much as we had anticipated. More to come!

Mighty Good Marinara

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A lovely—and colorful—meal of gluten-free pasta topped with a delicious marinara that had chickpeas, spinach, and rosemary all thrown in for good measure. A bean salad with tons of avocado and cherry tomatoes made a multicolored side.

The Goods: This is it! The next time you hear from us we'll be reporting from LA, where we'll be at Expo West 2010, exploring the miles of booths. Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for all the haps!

Fig and Walnut Pasta

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A hearty pasta doused in cashew cream, chopped walnuts and figs, salt, and a touch of nutmeg. To add to the carby goodness of the main course, Elizabeth prepared a panzanella-style salad of bread, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. Carbs on carbs? It appears we've answered the "to eat or not to eat" question from yesterday.

The Goods: The main course here was inspired by a meal Elizabeth made way back during cookbook week when we tried recipes from 1,000 Vegan Recipes by one of our fantastic columnists, Robin Robertson. This is the best kind of recipe: the kind that you make one time and can then improvise for years to come. And yes, we could totally eat this pasta every day. Remember, we'll be eating in LA this Friday and Saturday and reporting live from Expo West!

Pan Asian Wraps

The Chef: Kristen

The Menu: A highly delicious, peanut-sauce covered stir-fry with bell peppers, mushrooms, cashews, and spices that Kristen wrapped up in whole-wheat tortillas. Could we pretty much have eaten six of these apiece? Yes, they were that good. Paired with an incredibly lovely salad, we happily devoured Kristen's fantastic fusion main.

The Goods: There's a raging debate happening today at the VNHQ: Should we eat 10 times our normal rations of lunch in order to expand our stomachs for Expo West, or should we curb our calorie intake before we get there to try and balance out the food-sample blitz? Yep, these are the major issues with which we struggle.

Bean-tastic Chili

The Chef: Abby

The Menu: A totally filling, fantastic chili with beans galore, diced tomatoes, and the perfect blend of spices. What would chili be without Abby's signature biscuits alongside? We don't know, and we don't want to find out! Thankfully, she made up a fresh batch for us today, which we eagerly devoured. Oh, and also a salad. Woot, salad.

The Goods: This week will be fast and furious at the VNHQ, since we're heading down to LA on Thursday for Expo West 2010! You might remember Expo West from years past; it's an enormous trade show that we attend yearly to discover the hottest new vegan products on the planet, and tell you all about them. This year, we'll be reporting live from the show via Twitter and Facebook!

Friday Ribs

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: A perfectly delicious smorgasbord of lunchtime delights. First and foremost, Frankie's ribs and barbecue sauce made the scrumptious main course, to which Lyndsay added a rosemary-infused rice pilaf, mashed sweet potatoes, and a big green salad with kale, romaine, and avocado.

The Goods: This meal was the perfect way to end the week, even though we then experienced some technical difficulties that prevented us from posting about it until now. Here's hoping everyone enjoyed the weekend!

Multi-Bean Soup

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: Have we ever mentioned that maybe we love a little something in our office called the Vita-Mix? Because we effing do. Liz blended today's delicious soup—which featured potatoes, tomatoes, all kinds of beans, carrots, and spices—as well as her freshly made salsa. Did she made homemade tortilla chips to go with the salsa? That's right, she did. The salad—made of mixed greens, beans, and avocado—she left intact, to our delight.

The Goods: It's been a freakishly long time since our last blended soup, and we were thrilled for the return of this satisfying main course.

All Kale Caesar (Salad)

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A hearty, veggie-filled lentil soup perfectly balanced with a fresh kale salad. Our super savory soup consisted of red lentils, celery, carrots, and garlic and was just the warming main course we needed. In classic soup-and-salad combo style, Elizabeth paired our tasty main with a heaping side of kale and apple salad, tossed in a spicy, tangy mustard vinaigrette dressing.

The Goods: We don't know what's happening with the weather, but we're putting in a request that it cease and desist. Lately, our windows shift from sunny skies to heavy downpours within what feels like a matter of minutes, making this soul-satisfying soup and zesty salad exactly what we needed to perk up our moods. Does Elizabeth get extra points for steaming today's soup water in our tea kettle? She just might. Did we follow our delicious lunch with birthday cake leftovers? We just may have. Speaking of cake, if you're planning to bake a birthday cake for a friend or coworker—or, ahem, us—look no further than VN's Recipe Club!

Rice, Beans, and Cake

The Chef: Kristen

The Menu: A delectable, colorful, South-of-the-Border plate filled with whole-wheat tortillas, perfectly fluffy rice, and a scrumptious scramble of black beans, tofu, red bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and spices. An equally attractive salad balanced out the plate, and featured garbanzo beans, crispy tortilla strips, and chunks of avocado.

The Goods: We had a full team back in the office today, which was awfully convenient as we also got to celebrate Abby's birthday. Technically, she was born yesterday (a number of years ago), but we have a pretty fantastic policy that allows employees their birthdays free from work. So, today we had cake. Here's half of it.


We also have some exciting—and potentially depressing—news: VegNews Great Adventure to India is sold out! If you are going, we are super excited to see you in October! If you didn't snag a spot in time, don't despair. We just might be doing this kind of thing again in the future.

Soup & Pan-Asian Sides

The Chef: Joseph

The Menu: A hearty, soul-satisfying seven-bean soup paired with two Asian-cuisine-inspired sides, and a tangy salad rounded out today's lunch. Joseph spent his Sunday night cooking this delicious bean soup from scratch, and boy were we grateful he did. Our savory main was comprised of broccoli, nutritional yeast, and seven different varieties of beans including pinto, kidney, and lima. Trader Joe's supplied the tasty veggie-filled gyoza and edamame, and a rich salad of mixed greens, avocado, carrots, and mushroom finished off our Monday meal.

The Goods: It's a quiet Monday at the VNHQ, as several of our staff members are out of the office for the day. Did they up and leave work for a luxury vacation to India? As far as we know they did not, but come October 2010, they very well might! Interested in coming along on this all-vegan dream vacation? Of course you are! Sign-up today to join VN publishers in our first-ever VegNews Great Adventure to India. The trip is already half sold-out, so reserve your spot today!